Character Building from KidsDiscuss.com

10 Character Building Tips: Rewards that Motivate Kids!

Build Character with Fun Rewards that Motivate!

Here's 10 character building tips with rewards that will motivate your kids. They don't involve money or material rewards but they will create a strong loving parent-child bond.

Don't Be Blackmailed! Build Character Instead!

Parents, are you being blackmailed? You are if you motivate your kids with money. Every time you want your kids to do their best or ask for help, too often they want more money. As your kids grow older, they’ll want even more money. Giving money isn’t the best way to build great character.

I know you don’t want your kids to be materialistic or only do things if they get paid. Wouldn’t it be nice if they did things for love?

Motivate Kids in Fun and Loving Ways:

Today, I’ll share 10 great motivating rewards that bond you and your kids in fun and loving ways. After all, research tells us that teens would rather spend time with parents than anyone else. Find out if your kids feel the same way.

Rewards that Motivate Kids and Don’t Cost Money:

1. Offer to write 10 compliments about things you love in your child.

2. Teach your child to cook something he’d like to learn.

3. Plan a party with your child.

4. Take funny photos of each other.

5. Sings songs together as if performing on stage.

6. Go on a hike together. 

7. Clean and rearrange your child’s room together.

8. Exercise together by playing outdoor games.

9. Offer to style your child’s hair just for fun.

10. Manicure and paint your child’s nails.

Below are 5 sample behaviors you'll want to promote and 5 simple rules to guide you.

5 Behavior Ideas to Motivate in Kids:

1. Finish Saturday chores cheerfully.

2. Do a good job on homework.

3. Talk respectfully to parents.

4. Use good table manners.

5. Play well with siblings.

5 Parenting Rules for No-Cost Motivation Rewards:

1. Offer only the rewards you are willing to give them.

2. Tell your child to choose the no-cost reward he’d like to receive. (Your child might not want the reward you’d choose. If so, he won’t be motivated by it either.)

3. Give the rewards when your child accomplishes the behavior goal. (Waiting a long time to give it discourages kids from trying.)

4. Avoid making the time for receiving the reward too long. (If you say, “You have to get straight A’s this year,” your child won’t try because the reward is too far away.)

5. Make up new no-cost rewards with your child’s advice when needed.

Have fun motivating your child in loving ways. Money’s OK for allowances if it’s used to teach kids how to save and how to spend wisely. But don’t pay kids for everything. If you do, you’ll feel frustrated and blackmailed. Why not build character instead?

Motivate with your time and your love. Before long, your child will feel motivated from within. What could be better than a motivated kid with an inner zest for life?

Jean Tracy, MSS

Parents, it's your turn to take the microphone:

What are your opinions about this blog post or your suggestions for motivating your kids? Please answer in the comment link below.

With warm wishes,

Jean Tracy, MSS

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Hopeful Research for Parents of Autistic Children

 
Parents of Autistic Children Wonder Why

If you're the parent of an autistic child, you may have reason to be optimistic. In the Fox News article from Reuters, Extra Brain Cells May Be Key to Autism, Study Says, dated November 09, 2011, there appears to be hope. Here's the article:

Children's Health - HEALTH

Children with autism appear to have too many cells in a key area of the brain needed for communication and emotional development, helping to explain why young children with autism often develop brains that are larger than normal, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

Their study suggests the condition starts in the womb because brain cells in this area known as the prefrontal cortex typically develop during the second trimester of pregnancy.

The findings could help narrow the search for a cause of autism, which affects one in every 150 children born today in the United States, or about 1 percent of the population.

"We found a really remarkable 67 percent increase in the total number of brain cells in the prefrontal cortex," said Dr. Eric Courchesne of the University of California San Diego Autism Center of Excellence, whose study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Courchesne and colleagues carefully counted the number of brain cells in tissue from seven boys with autism who had died and six boys who did not have autism at the time of their deaths.

They focused on the prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain which is thought to grow too large and too fast in children with autism.

"It's a part of the brain that's important for social, emotional and communication functions, and it composes about 25 to 30 percent of the cerebral cortex," Courchesne said in a telephone interview.

His team was first in 2003 to link rapid growth in head circumference in the first year of birth with autism.

He said the finding of excess brain cells in the prefrontal cortex explains brain overgrowth in autism, and hints at why brain function in this area is disrupted.

"This isn't just a simple increase in neurons. It means a huge increase in potential connections and, therefore, a potential for miswiring which would lead to abnormal function," Courchesne said.

Dr. Manny Alvarez, senior managing health editor of FoxNews.com, said the data from this study is very clear and could be very influential to future autism research.

“Clearly this research is very well analyzed and shows that there is hyperproliferation of brain tissue in key areas of the brain which is involved in communication,” Alvarez said. “One key question is why does this happen?"

Alvarez said he thinks this study could have a large impact on future autism screening.

“This research could lead us to think out of the box and perhaps start screening for the autism spectrum in utero. To read the rest of this article go to:

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/11/09/extra-brain-cells-may-be-key-to-autism-study-says/

 

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What are your opinions? Please answer in the comment link below.

With warm wishes,

Jean Tracy, MSS

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Holiday Warning: Parents, You Must Teach Kids This Stress Technique!

 
Help Kids Relax at Christmas! 

If you'd like stress free kids during the holidays, you'll love this stress technique. Our parenting expert, Lori Lite, shows us how. While listening to this creative method, consider using it for yourself as well as your children.

Holiday Relaxation Breathing For Children

Santa, relatives, parties and the mall can make children nervous or even tremble with fear. Relaxation breathing for children is an effective self-soothing skill they can use before or during their visit with Santa and relatives. Any child with anxiety, Autism, Aspergers, or Sensory Processing Disorders can benefit from this technique.

All children can use deep breathing for stress management, anger management, and falling asleep. Practicing breathing prior to stressful events empowers children. Please enjoy the following excerpt from my breathing book  Sea Otter Cove: A Relaxation Story .This story is also available on the Indigo Ocean Dreams CD and in Spanish. It is fun to learn relaxation breathing with a sea otter and sea child.

Excerpt:

The sea child told the sea otter to breathe in through his nose and out through his nose.  He focused all of his attention on the tip of his nose.

They both did this breathing together.

Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose.

In 2, 3, 4… out 2, 3, 4. In 2, 3, 4… out 2, 3, 4.

The sea child told the sea otter that he could breathe this way whenever he felt angry or scared or nervous. He could focus on the air moving in and out of the tip of his nose, and he could feel calm. The sea otter placed his hands on his belly, and felt it lift up and down as the air moved in and out. For a few moments they both did this breathing together.

Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose.

In 2, 3, 4… out 2, 3, 4. In 2, 3, 4… out 2, 3, 4.

The sea child’s mind began to wander. She imagined that her thoughts were a feather as she blew them away with her next breath out.  She focused her attention on her breath again as she drew in a breath of warm fragrant sea air.

She liked the way it felt to quiet her mind.

She focused on the way the air felt moving in and out of her nose. She felt her belly lift up and down as the sea child and the sea otter continued to breathe together.

Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose.

In 2, 3, 4… out 2, 3, 4. In 2, 3, 4… out 2, 3, 4.

In 2,3, 4…out 2,3,4.

 (A powerful variation of this breathing technique is to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. The Ahhhh sound can also be added to the exhale. Angry Octopus uses this type of breathing)

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Lori Lite

A grateful THANK YOU to Lori Lite for this very helpful relaxation technique. It will help parents and children cope with the holidays and have much more fun.

How to connect with Lori Lite at StressFreeKids:

 This story and more can be found on the Indigo Ocean  Dreams CD/mp3

 Stress Free Kids founder Lori Lite has created a line of books and CDs designed to help children, teens, and adults decrease stress, anxiety, and anger. Ms. Lite’s books, CDs, and lesson plans are considered a resource for parents, psychologists, therapists, child life specialists, teachers, and yoga instructors. Lori is a certified children’s meditation facilitator and Sears’ Manage My Life parenting expert. For more information visit  Stress Free Kids and for daily advice follow Lori on Twitter and Facebook. 

Parents, it's your turn to take the stage:

What are your opinions about this blog post or your suggestions for helping your kids learn ways to relax? Please answer in the comment link below.

With warm wishes,

Jean Tracy, MSS

Sign up for my Newsletter at http://www.kidsdiscuss.com/ and receive 80 fun activities to play with your kids.

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